Prayapolooza in Houston

[redfox]

And Warren Buffett's official salary at Berkshire Hathaway is $100,000, but he was somehow able to overcome that handicap to become the third richest man in the world. I don't criticize Mr. Dees at all for making money, but don't be fooled by the SPLC marketing campaign that tells you he is sustained by his cause because he only nets $809 in a year.

http://www.splcenter.org/sites/defau...C_990_1010.pdf

The 2009 Form 990 for the SPLC. Very informative. There is a lot of profit in non-profit, you just can't take it as, well, profit.

That income figure is 89 million, BTW.

Warren Buffett's enterprise is a for-profit business. There are many more options to hide $$ in a for profit than in a NFP. I've filled out 990's, and there are no hiding places for cash in the NFP world.

And yes, NFP's are a business, like any other; something that very few people understand, I do believe. It's perfectly acceptable, in fact necessary, to take in profit. What happens with the profit is the difference. In a for-profit, profits are paid out in salaries or shareholder earnings. In a NFP, they are plowed back into the mission.

NFP's pay executive salaries along the very same lines as for-profits; that is to say depending upon the job description and the income of the organization. It is rational to pay a top executive a top salary - if it can be afforded - to make sure the organization runs well. The idea that those of us in the NFP world should somehow work for peanuts is stupid... we have all the same expenses that everyone else does. It's great to work for a lofty mission, but it's work all the same.

NFP's generally have 2 revenue streams - earned income & unearned income. Earned is just that: fee-for-service income. That can be market rate or cut rate; it's up to the organization. Unearned income encompasses individual gifts, foundation gifts and grants, government grants, & in-kind contributions.

Every NFP creates an income & expense budget each year. In early years, NFP's spend way more than they take in starting up their fundraising arm - it's a line of business. Like any other start-up venture, it takes about 5 years for fundraising to become profitable. (The only criticism I have of Guidestar is that the ratings they give NFP's don't reflect this fact, and young NFP's may have lower ratings due to spending more on fundraising than is the desired percentage, and that more mature orgs spend.)

One can easily see what the overhead is at a NFP - just ask to see their audited annual report. If they don't have a big enough budget to get audits, look at their profile in Guidestar. Ask them about their cost of doing business! NFP's want to tell potential donors about their fiscal picture. Okay, I gotta get back to writing our case statement for a major donor campaign I am launching next month!